rabble.ca - Derrick O'Keefehttps://rabble.ca/category/bios/blogger/derrick-okeefe
Derrick O'Keefe is a writer and social justice activist in Vancouver, B.C. Derrick served as rabble.ca's editor from 2012 to 2013 and from 2007 to 2009. He is the author of the new Verso book, Michael Ignatieff: The Lesser Evil? and the co-writer of Afghan MP Malalai Joya's political memoir, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice. Topics covered on this blog will include the war in Afghanistan and foreign policy, Canadian politics, media analysis, climate justice and ecology. You can follow him at http://twitter.com/derrickokeefe
enOmar Khadr first to face trial for war crimes under Obamahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/04/omar-khadr-first-face-trial-war-crimes-under-obama
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Shame on Harper, shame on Obama and shame on us all. <a href="http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/omarkhadr/article/800597--khadr-starring-in-war-crimes-test-case?bn=1" rel="nofollow">The <em>Toronto Star</em> reports today</a> that "this week the first war crimes trial under the Obama administration will feature its only remaining Western prisoner and one who was 15 when captured." </p>
<p>George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the warmongers from the former administration were left to walk free, as Obama told the world to "look forward, not backward." Apparently we only "look backward" -- how on earth would any law ever been enforced without looking back? -- at the actions of child soldiers. Some in Washington, D.C. even seem to grasp how absurd this all looks, as the <em>Star</em> reports:</p>
<p><em>"As the historic first test of the amended military laws, some have made comparisons to the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders, but experts scoff.</em></p>
<p><em>'It’s actually in no way like Nuremberg," said Eugene Fidell, a professor of military law at Yale.</em></p>
<p><em>'This case doesn’t involve the leader of the opposing force, it’s not the head of the Taliban, it’s not the head of Al Qaeda. It’s small fries. If anything it’s like the follow-on trials that were held in (Nuremberg) Germany after World War II – if that.'</em></p>
<p><em>Even so, the political optics of having Khadr as the star of a showcase trial has some in Washington uncomfortable. Or as one high-ranking official in the administration who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity said: 'Let’s just say it has many people scratching their heads.'"</em></p>
<p>The article goes on to assert the following about Canadian public opinion on this matter:</p>
<p><em>"Polls show the country roughly split between calling for his repatriation and leaving him to face justice in the U.S. Over the years, an increasing number of Canadians have expressed concern at the trial delays, or issues surrounding Khadr’s age at the time of his capture – but the shift has been slight."</em></p>
<p>Now, the mainstream media deserves some of the blame for the fact that this case did not generate more outrage and mobilization. But I also believe that social movements and human rights organizations did not do enough to raise the profile of Omar Khadr's plight, and that's why I say shame on us all.</p>
<p>Not to say that that there weren't valiant efforts by Lawyers Against War, Amnesty International, the BC Civil Liberties Association and others in the peace and social justice movements across the country. It's just that so much more needed to be done to press for repatriation.</p>
<p>As for the upcoming trial itself, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/omar-khadrs-defender-sees-no-way-for-fair-trial/article1546375/" rel="nofollow">the <em>Globe and Mail</em> has an interview</a> with one of Khadr's civilian attorneys, Nathan Whitling. Here's what he says about why this trial is going ahead:</p>
<p><em>"President Obama has failed to make good on his own promises to close Guantanamo Bay or to fix the unfair military commission system. Powerful interests, including some in the Pentagon, are gung-ho on obtaining whatever convictions they possibly can – even if it’s just a wrongly accused child soldier. To date, President Obama has lacked the courage and leadership to stop them."</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:57:26 +0000derrick74942 at https://rabble.caWikileaks: CIA recommends France use Afghan women's rights to boost warhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/04/wikileaks-cia-recommends-france-use-afghan-womens-rights-boost-war
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/jpg_cia-pakman.jpg?itok=OE5Wz-Gk" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>A secret CIA report, brought to light last month by <a href="http://wikileaks.org/" rel="nofollow">Wikileaks</a>, reveals the cynical battle plans for the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7535681/CIA-suggests-Europe-should-understand-suffering-of-women-under-Taliban.html" rel="nofollow">"war of perception" being waged over public opinion in Europe about NATO's war in Afghanistan</a>. The four-page document is well worth reading, mainly to see exactly how cyncial the powers-that-be are when assessing the public.</p>
<p>The report's subheadings tell the story:<strong> </strong>'Public Apathy Enables Leaders To Ignore Voters ... But Casulaties Could Precipitate Backlash', 'Tailoring Messaging Could Forestall of At Least Contain Backlash', 'Appeals by President Obama and Afghan Women Might Gain Traction'.</p>
<p>This last point, the plight of Afghan women, was emphasized as a means of encouraging the French people's reluctance to call for their troops to be brought home (especially in the event that the toll of French casualties increases, threatening the aforementioned apathy).</p>
<p><em>"Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the ISAF role in combating the Taliban because of women's ability to speak personally and credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations for the future, and their fears of a Taliban victory. Outreach initiatives that create media opportunities for Afghan women to share their stories with French, German, and other European women could help to overcome pervasive skepticism among women in Western Europe toward the ISAF mission...</em></p>
<p><em>"Media events that feature testimonials by Afghan women would probably be most effective if broadcast on programs that have large and disproportionately female audiences." </em></p>
<p>The CIA report warns that women in Europe have thus far failed to grasp the feminist nature of NATO's war: <em>"According to INR polling in the fall of 2009, French women are 8 percentage points less likely to support the mission than are men, and German women are 22 percentage points less likely to support the war than are men." </em></p>
<p>Unfortunately for the CIA and for the French government, Malalai Joya had just visited Paris in early February for the launch of the French edition of her political memoir, <a href="http://www.pressesdelacite.com/site/au_nom_de_mon_peuple_&amp;100&amp;9782258080805.html" rel="nofollow"><em>Au nom de mon peuple</em></a>, which I worked on as co-writer. I'm pleased to report that on her recent European speaking tour she also launched our book in <a href="http://www.malalaijoya.com/dcmj/malalai-joya-photo-galleries.html?func=detail&amp;id=52" rel="nofollow">the Netherlands</a> and <a href="http://www.malalaijoya.com/dcmj/malalai-joya-photo-galleries.html?func=detail&amp;id=54" rel="nofollow">Italy</a>. The Spanish version is forthcoming shortly.</p>
<p>Although her French visit lasted only a few days, Joya received relatively broad media coverage. Joya speaks "personally and credibly" about her experience under the Taliban, since she worked as a teacher at underground schools for girls during those years; she also speaks in uncompromising language about the continuing domination of anti-women warlords and fundamentalists, and about the devastating toll of the war on Afghan civilians. For NATO, she's a very inconvenient woman, speaking an inconvenient truth.</p>
<p>Whether the French public moves from apathy to outrage about their country's role in Afghanistan remains to be seen. With the recent collapse of the Dutch government over the issue of the Afghan War, the stakes in this "war of perception" have never been higher.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:57:46 +0000derrick74640 at https://rabble.caWho are we fighting for? The Corleones of Kandaharhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/04/who-are-we-fighting-corleones-kandahar
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>A few months back, I wondered aloud if <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2009/11/have-canadians-been-killing-and-dying-kandahars-al-capone" rel="nofollow">Canadians were killing and dying for Kandahar's Al Capone</a>. Since then, there have been new revelations bolstering the case for gangster metaphors in describing the Karzai family at the head of the NATO-backed regime in Afghanistan. President Hamid's half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, has come under particular scrutiny. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-kandahar-warlord-who-has-presidential-protection-1934731.html" rel="nofollow">Julius Cavendish writes in the April 3 <em>UK Independent</em>:</a></p>
<p class="font-null"><em>"To the inhabitants of Kandahar City, Ahmed Wali Karzai is a symbol of everything wrong with their home, an emblem of the murky nexus of warlords and criminal syndicates controlling southern Afghanistan's largest city. In the words of some residents, the half-brother of Afghanistan's president is accused of being a 'warlord, a terrorist', a narcotics trafficker, and a contract monopolist. Others won't even mention his name. 'I can't tell you anything about this. I'm too scared. Someone might kill me,' one resident said."</em></p>
<p class="font-null">Even NATO's top civilian official in the area feels the need to reference gangster movies to describe the situation:</p>
<p class="font-null"><em>"'It's very difficult to untangle but what's really fuelling the insurgency is groups being disenfranchised, feeling oppressed by the institutions of state and criminal syndicates,' said Mark Sedwill, Nato's top civilian official in Afghanistan. The message was repeated in more than a dozen interviews with Afghan and Nato officials, private citizens, analysts and local journalists. The biggest problem is not the Taliban, it's the gangster oligarchs in charge. Or as Sedwill put it: 'I'm not sure whether I'm watching Godfather part 2 or Godfather part 3.'"</em></p>
<p class="font-null">In the face of the domination of thugs like Wali Karzai, the provincial attorney general confesses that he is impotent to enforce the law:</p>
<p class="font-null"><em>"In his office behind rows of blast barriers, the provincial attorney general, Mohammas Ismael Zia, told The Independent that he often has to drop cases under pressure from members of Kandahar's ruling elite. 'Many people call me from parliament, from the governor's office, from the provincial council office, saying 'Release this man, drop that case,' he said. 'I am a weak man. If I don't accept their demands maybe I will get killed. They are threatening me.'" </em></p>
<p class="font-null"><em> "'In Kandahar every criminal has a supporter and the supporter wants him released from custody,' he said. 'There are many warlords in Kandahar City. Don't write their names. If I don't accept their demands, they can make many problems for me. They could kill me or remove me from this job. So sometimes I ignore the rules.'"</em></p>
<p>This climate of impunity has also been alleged to have held up the investigation into the murder of an 18-year-old relative of President Karzai, gunned down in October 2009 in Kandahar allegedly as a result of a decades-old family feud. Relatives in the United States were so frustrated at the Afghan authorities' inaction that they contacted the FBI and later <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/world/asia/20karzai.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow">the <em>New York</em> <em>Times</em> in order to expose the tragic story</a>.</p>
<p>Given that he is the most powerful man in Kandahar Province, where Canadian Forces are preparing for a massive military offensive <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/world/asia/31karzai.html" rel="nofollow">described by the <em>Times</em> as the "fulcrum" of the entire war,</a> the allegations about Wali Karzai should be on the front pages of newspapers across Canada.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong>Update:</strong></em> <a href="http://rabble.ca/babble/international-news-and-politics/karzai-threatens-join-taliban" rel="nofollow">Hamid Karzai threatens to join the Taliban</a>. (The article might have been headlined 'Karzai threatens to rejoin the Taliban', since as a tribal chief in Kandahar he was a Taliban supporter for a couple of years in the 1990s.)</p>
</p></div></div></div>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:26:30 +0000derrick74420 at https://rabble.caLeft Forum 2010: Rekindling the radical imaginationhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/04/left-forum-2010-rekindling-radical-imagination
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>I attended this year's Left Forum in New York, a gathering of thousands of progressive academics and activists held March 19-21. I spoke at a panel co-organized by the Canadian Peace Alliance and the Campaign for Peace and Democracy on the topic of the war in 'Af-Pak'.</p>
<p>The final plenary on March 21 featured a tribute to Howard Zinn, with actor-teacher-activist Brian Jones performing Zinn's <em>Marx in Soho</em>. With the Forum being held at PACE University in Lower Manhattan a stone's throw from Wall Street (and not far from Soho), the play was a joyful reminder that the ideas of both Zinn and Marx will resonate until the global dictatorship of Capital is brought to an end.</p>
<p>Arundhati Roy and Noam Chomsky were the evening's other featured speakers. Roy spoke only briefly, but touched on some of the life and death struggles taking place in India about which she has recently written in depth. Chomsky's speech was full of insights, as always, and painted a dark picture of political life in the United States -- with the left largely in static irrelevance while the far right is mobilizing. Chomsky is not alone in warning in recent months against the rise of fascism in the U.S., and I think the alarm he's sounding should be listened to and considered carefully by all progressive-minded people.</p>
<p>You can watch the tribute to Zinn and Roy and Chomsky's speeches <a href="http://vimeo.com/10623141" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:38:37 +0000derrick74397 at https://rabble.caWar extension looms: Will the Liberals (again) help Harper stay in Afghanistan?https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/03/war-extension-looms-will-liberals-again-help-harper-stay-afghanistan
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/us-to-press-for-canada-to-keep-troops-in-afghanistan/article1511172/" rel="nofollow">Yesterday’s <em>Globe and Mail</em></a> featured one of Ottawa’s worst kept secrets as its front page story: the United States will be officially requesting that hundreds of Canadian troops remain in Afghanistan after the 2011 pull-out from Kandahar. The article implies that such a continued military role would not contradict the 2008 parliamentary motion on the war:</p>
<p>“The U.S. government will ask Canada to keep as many as 500 to 600 troops in Afghanistan after this country’s military deployment in Kandahar ends in 2011. Sources inside and outside the government say the formal request is expected toward the end of this year through NATO. The troops would act as military trainers and would most likely be located in Kabul. The deployment would not involve putting Canadian troops in harm’s way, but could nonetheless set off a rancorous national debate among Canadians and especially within the Liberal Party...</p>
<p>"No specific request has been raised in meetings between Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Defence Minister Peter MacKay. But officials in the departments of State and Defence have advised their Canadian counterparts that an 'ask' is coming. To fulfill the terms of the parliamentary resolution that Canadian Forces leave Afghanistan, any troops would have to be outside the Kandahar region, and not engaged in military operations. Trainers stationed in Kabul would fulfill those requirements, and it is what Canadian officials are expecting.”</p>
<p>Military <em>trainers</em>? Like the U.S. trainers in Vietnam decades ago? It's notable that the <em>Globe</em> runs with the government's euphemism.</p>
<p>Even <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/spector-vision/request-for-troops-a-debate-for-parliament/article1511388/?cid=art-rail-bureaublog" rel="nofollow">conservative pundit Norman Spector</a> shot down this convenient reasoning:</p>
<p>“According to this report, our troops would serve as military trainers, would be located in Kabul and would not be 'in harm’s way'. Pish. If our troops are serving as military trainers, sooner or later they will have to accompany the Afghan troops they are training into combat operations. Which means they will be in harm's way. Some Canadians will support our continued military involvement in Afghanistan, others will oppose it. Which means that the U.S. request should be debated by Parliament, as Prime Minister Harper has committed.”</p>
<p>Stephen Harper has stated that 2011 would mark the end of Canada’s military role in Afghanistan, following the 2008 motion that saw the Conservatives and Liberals voting for the war together. Though <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/09/10/harper-afghanistan.html" rel="nofollow">the PM did</a> allude to some troops remaining to "aid in some technical capacities," the proposal that appears to coming from the U.S. is of a different magnitude.</p>
<p>Ottawa's politicians should not be allowed to wiggle out of this. Keeping hundreds of troops in Afghanistan in support of the occupation would require a new vote in Parliament. Harper and Ignatieff have stood 'shoulder to shoulder' in voting to extend the war twice before -- in 2006 and 2008. We'll see if this year sees the continuation of this Liberal-Conservative coalition of the willing.</p>
<p> </p>
</p></div></div></div>Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:32:13 +0000derrick74227 at https://rabble.caLet's go Dutch! Government of the Netherlands collapses over Afghan Warhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/02/lets-go-dutch-government-netherlands-collapses-over-afghan-war
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>The 'Olympic Truce' continues to be nothing more than a sick joke for the people of Afghanistan, as <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8528715.stm" rel="nofollow">at least 27 more civilians were killed in a NATO bombing in Uruzgan on Sunday</a>.</p>
<p>There is one big Winter Olympic country, however, that has (by sheer coincidence) given a nod to the values represented by the idea of a Truce during the Games. The government of the Netherlands has collapsed over the issue of the war, which is very big news indeed. Dutch troops, who have been stationed in Uruzgan, will be on their way out in six months. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/21/dutch-government-falls-over-afghanistan" rel="nofollow"><em>The Guardian</em> reports</a>:</p>
<p>"The Dutch government collapsed at the weekend, making it the first European and NATO administration to fall because of the war in Afghanistan... [this] means that the almost 2,000 Dutch troops in Afghanistan, based around Uruzgan, south-west of Kabul, will start pulling out in August and be withdrawn by the end of the year."</p>
<p>This could have major consequences for the future of NATO and its occupation of Afghanistan:</p>
<p>"The Netherlands could set a precedent, encouraging other European countries to get cold feet about their presence in Afghanistan... The Dutch withdrawal is a blow to President Barack Obama and comes as the U.S. and NATO troops mount their biggest operation in Afghanistan for years."</p>
<p>The politicians who have taken a stand by rejecting any more extension of the Dutch presence in Afghanistan stand to gain in the upcoming election: "The Dutch Labour party's vehement opposition to remaining in Afghanistan is popular, bringing it instant opinion poll gains at the weekend."</p>
<p>We could use some more vehement opposition to the war here in Canada. And if Harper and/or Ignatieff attempt to extend Canada's part in the occupation yet again, we should be ready to 'go Dutch'. The Afghan people have been paying the bill for NATO's folly for too long.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:23:02 +0000derrick73399 at https://rabble.caMalalai Joya: 'Defenceless and poor' Afghans are main victims of NATO offensivehttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/02/malalai-joya-defenceless-and-poor-afghans-will-be-main-victims-nato-o
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Both the Vancouver Olympics and NATO's offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand Province are now a week old. Sadly, very few media outlets have picked up on the story of <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/02/wheres-olympic-truce" rel="nofollow">the blatant hypocrisy of launching this offensive during the so-called "Olympic Truce".</a> Nor have many in Canada given space to critical perspectives on 'Operation Moshtarak'.</p>
<p>Thankfully, we do have some other sources to draw on. The indispensable <em>Democracy Now!</em> reported Wednesday that "at least 19 civilians have been killed so far, including six children who died when a missile struck their house on the outskirts of the city." <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/16/civilian_casualties_mount_during_us_offensive" rel="nofollow">Amy Goodman's interview with Anand Gopal,</a> a <em>Wall Street Journal</em> correspondent based in Afghanistan, is well worth listening to in full. Gopal raises an important point about the paucity of solid information from the town under attack, Marjah, and the surrounding region. Referring to one missile strike which NATO quickly apologized for:</p>
<p>"...the difficult thing in understanding what’s happening there is that we know at least 12 people were killed, but it’s very difficult for reporters to get to Marjah. Almost all the reporters who are there are the embedded reporters, so they’re only seeing one side of the story. And we won’t know for some time yet if these are the only cases or if there are many more." </p>
<p>Afghans are also raising concerns about NATO's actions in Helmand. Malalai Joya, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/joya-condemns-ridiculous-military-strategy-1899547.html" rel="nofollow">interviewed by British journalist Glyn Strong for the <em>Independent</em></a>, points to what she perceives as another hypocrisy on the part of the occupiers: "On the one hand they call on Mullah Omar to join the puppet regime. On another hand they launch this attack in which defenceless and poor people will be the prime victims."</p>
<p>Joya also makes some important points about the Afghan police, partners in NATO's occupation:</p>
<p>"The Afghan police force is the most corrupt institution in Afghanistan. Bribery is common and if you have money, by bribing police from top to bottom you can do almost anything. In many parts of Afghanistan, people hate the police more than the Taliban. In Helmand, for instance, people are afraid of police who commit violence against people and make trouble."</p>
<p>There are 10 left days for the Vancouver Games. If only the Afghan people could be so lucky.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:18:02 +0000derrick73275 at https://rabble.caWhere's that Olympic Truce?https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/02/wheres-olympic-truce
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/2010_boycott_canada_olympics.jpg?itok=aCYfbE95" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Last week, I wrote <a href="http://www.straight.com/article-288436/vancouver/games-boycott-echoes-today" rel="nofollow">a piece in the <em>Georgia Straight</em></a> about the war in Afghanistan and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver:</p>
<p><em>"The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were boycotted in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Then–U.S. president Jimmy Carter announced the boycott in February 1980, and Canada and dozens of other countries soon followed suit ... Thirty years later, it is the United States, Canada, and the other NATO countries that are occupying Afghanistan. Instead of a boycott, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics are being used to promote militarism in general and Canada’s role in the occupation of Afghanistan in particular."</em></p>
<p>It's now fair to speculate that the Games have been used even more cynically -- as cover for a massive new NATO offensive in Afghanistan that has already claimed many Afghan civilians' lives. Operation Moshtarak, with Canadian Forces participation, was launched in the southern province of Helmand on Feb. 12, <em>the day of</em> the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver. And it has already taken <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/afghan-offensive-marred-by-civilian-deaths/article1469163/" rel="nofollow">its toll on Afghans, as reported in the <em>Globe and Mail</em></a>:</p>
<p><em>"In two days, coalition troops have killed as many as 20 civilians in five separate incidents in two Afghanistan provinces. Three men were shot and killed after being individually mistaken for insurgents; five men were killed in an air strike on Monday after Canadian-commanded troops erroneously thought they were planting bombs; and as many as 12 civilians were killed in a high-profile rocket attack a day earlier, the details of which remained unclear amid varying accounts yesterday."</em></p>
<p>This military offensive in Afghanistan, the largest in nine years of war, makes a complete mockery of<a href="http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/feature-stories/the-olympic-truce-and-vancouver-2010_181314YC.html" rel="nofollow"> the commitment to a so-called "Olympic Truce" made by the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) and the Canadian government</a>. John Furlong, VANOC's CEO, said this from the rostrum of the United Nations in October 2009:</p>
<p><em>"The Games are an opportunity for all of us to uphold sport as an inspirational means to promote a culture of peace among nations and people everywhere ... Just like every athlete is held to account on the playing field where the values of respect, fair play and inclusion must prevail, we urge all UN member states to observe these values individually and collectively as we welcome the world to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February and March 2010.” </em></p>
<p>Following Furlong's speech, Canada and the 191 other UN member states passed, by consensus, a resolution to uphold the values expressed by the Olympic Truce movement. Like so many beautiful words on paper in this world of inequality backed by the might of empire, the Olympic Truce is meaningless. Or worse. It has been used, together with the spectacle of the Games, to deceive and distract from the state violence being perpretrated by the host country, among others, in occupied Afghanistan.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:28:05 +0000derrick73223 at https://rabble.caThe Governator to carry Olympic Torch in Vancouver https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/02/governator-carry-olympic-torch-vancouver
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg?itok=sM2nM-OL" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Because sometimes it's better to laugh than cry ...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the Feb. 12 start of the Vancouver Winter Olympics approaches, new details are emerging daily about the big spectacle as the torch winds its way toward B.C. Place for the Opening Ceremonies. Monday it was announced that <a href="http://www.ctvolympics.ca/torch/news/newsid=32637.html" rel="nofollow">California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would be one of the final day’s torchbearers</a> (but no, he will not be doing a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096320/" rel="nofollow"><em>Twins</em></a> run with Danny Devito). </p>
<p>My first reaction was that the choice of Schwarzenegger was just bizarre (<a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2010/02/08/12796571.html" rel="nofollow">VANOC's own rules are supposed to preclude elected politicians from running the torch</a>, for one thing.) But, after a little reflection, I think he is actually a perfect fit for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and VANOC. Because, just like the Olympics, under that Hollywood sheen of glamour lies an unseemly track record with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233469/" rel="nofollow"><em>Collateral Damage</em></a> strewn all over the bare slopes. </p>
<p>Schwarzenegger, as I’m sure you<em> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/" rel="nofollow">Total</a></em>(ly) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/" rel="nofollow"><em>Recall</em></a>, is perhaps the most famous walking talking advertisement for steroid use, having juiced his way to bodybuilding immortality and parlayed that notoriety into box office payday. Even a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099938/" rel="nofollow"><em>Kindergarten Cop</em></a> could tell you his run with the torch sends the message that doping pays, and that sometimes it pays really big. </p>
<p>Then there’s his record of alleged <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093773/" rel="nofollow"><em>Predator</em></a>-like behaviour when it comes to women. Upon entering politics, he was forced to <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-118833667.html" rel="nofollow">admit and apologize for</a> some of his "indiscretions" on this front. Schwarzenegger’s run provides a patriarchal bookend for the Games, another <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091828/" rel="nofollow"><em>Raw Deal</em></a> for advocates of gender equity after the IOC ploughed right over Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms in denying women ski jumpers the right to compete.</p>
<p>Finally, Arnold’s carrying the flame in Vancouver reminds us that it’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111503/" rel="nofollow"><em>True</em></a> (the IOC)<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111503/" rel="nofollow"> <em>Lies</em></a> by omission about the history of the Torch Relay itself. Both Schwarzenegger and the Relay, it turns out, have Nazi ancestry. The actor-politician’s father was an Austrian <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2003/aug/08/usa.politicsandthearts" rel="nofollow">Nazi police chief</a>; the modern Olympic torch procession started with the 1936 Berlin Olympics, as a way to spread a benign image of Hitler’s Germany across Europe. </p>
<p>Sometimes it seems like it takes the strength of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065832/" rel="nofollow"><em>Hercules</em></a> to expose the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087078/" rel="nofollow"><em>Conan the Destroyer</em></a>-like goons at the IOC. But with police <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088944/" rel="nofollow"><em>Commando</em></a>s surrounding Arnold <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093894/" rel="nofollow"><em>The Running Man</em></a> on Friday, this one looks more like an own goal by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080097/" rel="nofollow"><em>The Villain</em></a>s. I’m sure Jacques Rogge and VANOC just wish they could bring <a href="http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Freeze_(Arnold_Schwarzenegger)" rel="nofollow">Mr. Freeze</a> up here to work some magic on <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/world+calling+Vancouver+Olympics+green+they+talking+environment/2538691/story.html" rel="nofollow">Cypress Mountain</a>.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:25:01 +0000derrick72976 at https://rabble.caThe London conference on Afghanistan: Rebranding an unpopular war https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2010/01/london-conference-afghanistan-rebranding-unpopular-war
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Derrick O&#039;Keefe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/KarzaiDostum.jpg?itok=qbpu_f4a" width="1180" height="600" alt="" title="Hamid Karzai with notorious warlord and ally Rashid Dostum." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Lawrence Cannon, Canada’s foreign minister, is on his way to London for a major <a href="http://afghanistan.hmg.gov.uk/en/conference/" rel="nofollow">international conference on the future of Afghanistan</a>, January 28. Hilary Clinton and other high level representatives from the NATO countries will be present, as will embattled Afghan President Hamid Karzai. </p>
<p>One wonders if this major global media focus on Afghanistan was part of the Harper government’s calculation in proroguing Parliament. The torture and abuse of Afghan detainees is also an issue in several European countries, and so the less riled up the Canadian press corps is from any fresh revelations back home, the better. </p>
<p>The agenda of the London gathering has recently been expanded to include a special session on Yemen. This in itself ironically exposes the illogic with which the expansion of the war in Afghanistan has been sold to western publics. </p>
<p>After all, Obama’s announcement of an additional 30,000 troops to the occupation of Afghanistan was explained with the rationale that it was vital for national security. Without a ramping up of the war, the world was told, a “safe haven” for terrorists might emerge. ‘Fight them over there or you will have to fight them over here.’ And yet Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the thwarted, Nigerian-born “underwear” bomber is said to have links to Yemen, so we must fight them there as well. </p>
<p>The “deny Al-Qaeda a safe heaven” justification opens up nearly infinite new potential fronts in the global “war on terror”, a term that has been dropped from White House press releases while its aggressive and counter-productive mentality remains in place. </p>
<p>On Afghanistan, the London conference is not the first of its kind, and likely won’t be the last. Its real <em>raison d'être</em> is to help rebrand the Afghan War, which remains unpopular in the majority of NATO countries. As <a href="http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/1705/1/" rel="nofollow">Robin Beste of the UK Stop the War Coalition</a> argues, “It's a makeover aimed at turning the tide of public opinion, running so strongly against a war which is clearly futile and unwinnable. In reality the warmongers are gathering for a war council masquerading as a peace conference.”</p>
<p>Over the course of 2009, the bloodiest year of the eight since the invasion of Afghanistan began, public opinion in the UK in particular turned against the war. In Canada, anti-war sentiment remains strong, despite the fact that the New Democratic Party has quieted its opposition. The party leadership’s near-silence on the war itself – the NDP has loudly denounced the Conservatives on detainee abuse – can I think partly be explained by the “Obama factor,” a reluctance to be critical of the new president. But this is no time to remain silent in the face of governments that seem intent on more war and seemingly intent on ignoring the lessons of Afghanistan’s long history of resisting foreign occupation. </p>
<p>The history of the past decade alone can provide plenty of lessons about the real problems that plague Afghanistan. In 2001 Bonn, Germany played host to another conference of the big powers, where they established the road map to a post-Taliban Afghanistan. From the beginning, the Bush administration’s strong arm was evident: warlords and their representatives were allowed to participate, while women’s leaders were marginalized. </p>
<p>Sonali Kohatkar and James Ingalls, in the book <a href="http://bleedingafghanistan.com/" rel="nofollow"><em>Bleeding Afghanistan</em></a>, describe Bonn as “ushering in yet another ominous era for women” and “silencing the voices of civil society.” Instead of progressive change, they write: “Karzai’s post-Taliban rise was purchased by allowing Northern Alliance warlords and regional militia commanders to regain military power in the countryside, and by granting them immense political power in government, squelching the hopes of most Afghans.” Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid reported that the CIA set-up communications equipment so that Karzai, who was still in Kandahar at the time, could address the delegates in Bonn. Soon after his selection, Karzai was flown to Kabul in a U.S. military plane (see Rashid's <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Into-Chaos-Ahmed-Rashid/dp/014311557X" rel="nofollow"><em>Descent Into Chaos</em></a> for details). And thus the seeds of today’s Afghan quagmire were sown. <br /> <br />This week’s London conference will exclude voices opposed to the NATO intervention and the continued domination of warlords. Its whole design, under the veil of rhetoric about handing over power to Afghans, is to salvage the NATO operation and ensure a regime that is pliant to U.S. and western interests.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to watch how Karzai and his foreign sponsors interact. Since Bonn, he has been their man in Kabul. But the strain and sniping between the puppet and his puppeteers has been mounting. The blatant electoral fraud of last year and the rampant corruption of Karzai’s regime has been an embarrassment to his foreign masters. Meanwhile, the Afghan president has grown increasingly vocal about criticizing NATO air strikes that have killed countless civilians and <a href="http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/davemarkland/2010/01/5000-afghans-shout-death-obama" rel="nofollow">wounded his government’s popularity.</a></p>
<p>One aspect of Karzai’s tenure that doesn’t get enough coverage is the blatant nepotism. This should concern Canadians, since the most powerful man in Kandahar Province, where our troops are deployed, is the president’s brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, whose ties to drug trafficking have been widely reported and whom <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html" rel="nofollow">the <em>New York Times</em> last year exposed as being on the CIA’s payroll</a>. In other words, Canadian troops are killing and dying to prop up <a href="http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2009/11/have-canadians-been-killing-and-dying-kandahars-al-capone" rel="nofollow">Kandahar’s Al Capone</a>. </p>
<p>That is something that no amount of finely crafted press statements from London is going to change. And that is just one reason for Canadians to demand, once Parliament is finally reopened, that a new motion on Afghanistan be introduced by the opposition parties, one that will reflect the wishes of the Canadian people to bring the troops home much sooner than the end of 2011.</p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:37:15 +0000derrick72643 at https://rabble.ca